September Building
Pa
2006 The Western
Quaker
Community
Since 1929
Bulletin
The Official Publication of Pacific,
North Pacific and Intermountain Yearly Meetings
L. to R: Tom Kowal (Mt View FM, Denver CO), Cheryl Speir-Phillips (FNCL rep from Pima FM, Tucson, AZ), Ruah Swennerfeld and Louis Cox (Quaker
Earthcare Witness), Joanne Cowan (Boulder FM, CO), Mike Gray (Pima FM), Danielle Short (AFSC, Denver, CO), Joe Volk (FCNL), Mary Rae Cate, Chris
Viavant, Jose Romero, Bez Booth McCauley, Marybeth Webster (Douglas, AZ).
Please return to: _
Friends Bulletin
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The official publication of Pacific,
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DMMe)2VNbEm Yearly Meeting: A Journey of Discovery
What is the Quaker faith? It is not a tidy package of words which you capture at any
given time and then repeat weekly at a worship service. It 1s an experience of discovery,
which starts the discoverer on a journey, which 1s lifelong. The discovery 1n ttself 1s not
uniquely a property of Quakerism... What is unique to the Religious Society of Friends
is its insistence that the discovery must be made by each of us individually. No one 1s
allowed to get it secondhand by accepting a ready-made creed. Furthermore, the discovery
points a path and demands a journey, and gives you the power to make the journey.
—Elise Boulding, 1954 (Quoted in IMYM’s new Faith and Practice)
Elise’s words apply not only to our Quaker faith, but also to attending Yearly
Meeting. Yearly Meeting attenders embark on a journey, both literally and figu-
ratively. We come together to learn as well as to teach, to share our discoveries
and to be enriched by the discoveries of others. And this journey doesn’t happen
only once; it happens again and again, over a lifetime, over many lifetimes, as we
seek to grow closer to each other and to the Spirit who brings us together.
This month’s cover features many of those who by sharing their faith journey,
helped to enrich this year’s IMYM annual session; and some of their insights.
appear in the pages of this issue:
¢ Joanne N. Cowan writes about her experiences in prison after protesting at
the School of the Americas (see p. 15).
¢ Mike Gray is featured in the centerfold, where he is honored by the children
for his work leading Quaker service learning projects.
* Tom Kowal, along with others from the Committee on Migrant and Border
Concerns, gives a message about immigration issues (see p. 6).
¢ Joe Volk explains the work that Friends Committee on National Legislation
is doing to promote peace and justice in our nation’s capital (see p. 3).
Other Friends gave workshops on ecological concerns, border concerns, mys-
ticism, spiritual formation, the death penalty, etc. I had the privilege of giving an
interest group on interfaith peace making (see p. 8).
The most historic development of this year’s annual session was the unveiling
of the first draft of IMYM’s long-awaited Faith and Practice, finally ready after 13
years. Composing this document has been a journey of discovery which is not
over yet! Friends will be given another year to reflect upon this work-in-progress.
The F & P committee sums up how, and why, this document came to be written:
As is often the case when it comes to leadings, the answers to the persisting
questions about why we needed to do this have emerged only through the
process of faithfully fulfilling our charge. We have, as individuals, as a
committee, and as monthly meetings, engaged both the material and one
another at a deeper level. As we have struggled to choose words reflective of
IMYM Friends, new ties to one another have developed, our commitment to
each other has deepened, and our understanding of our unique identity as a
yearly meeting has grown. The process has affected us all.
So it is with this journey of discovery we call Quakerism. As we seek to follow
the leadings of the Spirit, we find that we are given what we need; and one of the
most important discoveries we make is how blessed we are to have caring and
committed companions along the way.
September 2006
Maruncy
FRIENDS BULLETIN
The Force of Truth, the Power of Lov:
by Joe Volk
Friends Committee on National
Legislation, Washington DC
“With your help, we have been able
to influence a superpower,” said Joe Volk
of FCNL. “We want to thank you for
helping us to zero out the funding for
new nuclear weapons. Three years ago
when we started this campaign, many
organizations said, “You can’t stop this,
it’s going to happen anyway.” Now these
groups are helping us and have enabled
us to stop the development of new
nuclear weapons.”
Joe went on to explain that those
who want to develop new nukes have
not given up, but have adopted new
strategies.
“We won on ‘no new nukes,”
explained Joe. “But the administration
is trying another approach: they want
to build 150 to 250 new nuclear
weapons per year and justify those new
nukes as the way to get cutbacks in the
current stock of nukes to 1,000. This is
obviously unacceptable to us, and we
will work to make sure this doesn't
happen.”
Joe also claimed another FNCL
victory. “Both houses of Congress
passed our bill calling for no permanent
US military bases in Iraq,” he explained.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
3 “The Force of Truth,
the Power of Love”
by Joe Volk
?
6 “Love the Strangers
as Yourself”
by the Committee on
Migrant and Border
Concerns
8 “Interfaith Peacemaking
and the Legacy of
Tom Fox”
by Anthony Manousos
September 2006 FRIENDS BULLETIN
“But it was deleted from the bill going
to the President. Congressional
advocates are so mad that they plan to
place this no permanent bases Iraq
provision on future legislation every
chance they get.”
Joe also expressed appreciation to
those who had contributed to the
FCNL building renovation project.
“Over 2,000 people contributed a
total of $6.2 million to building a green,
fully accessible building, right across
from the Hart Senate Office Building,”
said Joe. “It was more than just a
building, however. It was also a
fulfillment of George Fox’s injunction
9 “The Perils of Being Black
or Brown in a Border Town”
by Eisha Mason
10 Epistles and minutesof Inter-
mountain Yearly Meeting
12 Intermountain Yearly
Meeting in Pictures
15 “Prisoner of Conscience
Speaks Out”
by Joanne Cowan
16 “Epistle on Global Warming
Presented at FGC Gathering
a DeAnne Butterfield , Eric Wright, Joe Volk and Bob Pearson
that we ‘be patterns, let our lives speak.’
This renovation embodies our Quaker
witness and values. We get knocks on
the door from Congressional staff,
elected officials, architects... ‘Can we
come in, can you show us your building?
Can we have a meeting here and show
people what a green building is like?”
“Through the $6.2 million invested
in this building we have created a new
engine of change. People walk in the
building and their ideas come alive.
‘Could I do this in my house? Could
we do this in a federal building?”
During the rest of his talk Joe gave
legislative updates and told four stories
that illustrated the theme: “The power
of love.” .
and Karen Street’s
Comments”
18 “Bill and Genie Durland
Honored”
19 “The Vulture Church”
by Peter Anderson
19 IMYM accepts draft of
Faith and Practice
20 Memorial Minutes
par Calendar Items and
Classifieds
He began by reminding us that in
difficult times, since 9/11, it has become
increasingly difficult to believe that the
Lion and Lamb will lie down together.
“It may happen,” he said, “but the Lamb
wont get much sleep!”
FCNL responded to the con-
gressional debate on immigration issues
this spring. The latest immigration bills
came in two versions, one in the Senate
and one in the House. They differ and
must be reconciled. Conference Com-
mittees will find reconciliation difficult
and may not get that job done before
the fall elections.
Joe told about his studies in
comparative religion and how many
were influenced by the great theologian
Reinhold Neibuhr. According to
Neibuhr, you can achieve Christ’s ideal
of love in heaven, but here on earth you
must be realistic and settle for justice
and sometimes use violence to achieve
it. This theology contrasts Gandhi's
approach, who believed that you
sometimes must use voluntary self-
suffering to reveal the truth to others.
This nonviolent approach relies on the
power of love and the force of truth.
This is the basis for the Quaker
position on war. We believe that pos-
itive change comes about not through
fighting, but through voluntary
suffering. As William Penn said, the
Quaker position on war is “not fighting
but suffering.”
To illustrate this, Joe told the story
about how he became a CO during the
Vietnam War. Joe came from a rural,
religiously conservative area in Ohio,
and he returned his deferment from the
draft, because he opposed the Vietnam
War. His draft board offered him a CO
(conscientious objector) status, but he
turned that down too, because he had
not yet made the choice between the just
war and the nonviolent approaches. He
made the choice for nonviolence on the
bayonet training field and quit training.
Later he faced a general court martial
at Fort Carson, CO for refusing to go
with his combat unit to Vietnam. His
Methodist pastor advised him to go to
4
the Quakers in Denver for advice. There
he met Friendly AFSC counselors
named Chester McQuiry and Holmes
Browne.
“I was welcomed by Quakers in
Denver and treated warmly,” explained
Joe. (Unlike Manhattan, where a
clergyman and peace activist from
another religious tradition poured a
cocktail over my head, because I was in
the Army.) “When I said I was going to
refuse to go Vietnam with my outfit,
Chester and Holmes told me that others
had done that and I could too, if I had
the courage of my convictions. They
“Is Private Volk all right?” |
Young Friends re-enact Joe Volk’s
experiences in the Army
explained matter of factly the real
consequences: you will be sentenced to
the stockade for six months at hard
labor, a reduction in grade to E-1, and
two thirds forfeiture of pay, and, then,
you be released with an honorable or less
than honorable discharge.”
“Chester took me hiking in the
mountains, and then I got on a bus to
Colorado Springs and turned myself in
to the MPs at Fort Carson to be arrested.
Chester had asked: Would you like to
have someone call the commander in
the guard once a week to make sure
you're all right? He said it might help
to protect me while I was in
September 2006
confinement. He didn’t presume; he
asked me. Yeah, sure, I said. After my
conviction, I was in the stockade and
was working in the back forty and the
commander of the guard came to see
me and asked, ‘Are you Private Volk?’
The guards and everyone else were
amazed. I said, Yes. The commander of
the guard said, How are you? I said, ‘T’m
fine.’ Are you having any problems? ‘No
sir, I replied. He then turned around
and left. (Laughter.) I don’t know if the
Quakers called him to ask if I was all
right, but I do know that the
commander of the guard came to ask
me, and only me, if I was all right. I
think it’s reasonable to assume that some
nameless person, who didn’t know me,
but who did love me, cared enough to —
call and ask the question, ‘Is Private Volk
all right?’ This two-minute phone call
made a huge difference in my life. This
little act of love.”
Are Quakers extremists ?
Joe told the story about a talk show
that -hejdidsin (Septembens2001%
“Waiting to go on air, the host’
conversation demonstrated that he was
a voracious reader and very interested
in everything. We had a nice time talk-
ing about many things, including our
families. Then the show opens and the
host’s first statement was something
like, “My guest today is Joe Volk from
Friends Committee on Matters of
Legislation. He represents a community
that hates everything about America.
They hate Star Wars and military
defense. They hate the armed services
and our soldiers. This is a chance for
our listeners to find out why Joe and his
community are so anti-American and
extremist.”
Joe was shocked by the talk show
host’s tone, but after pausing for a
moment, he finally replied, “Yes, we
Quakers are extremists. In England in
the 17th century we were considered
extremists because we rejected the state
church and refused to pay a church tax
because we believed that every person
FRIENDS BULLETIN
could have a direct relationship with
God. We also believed that no human
being could be owned by another
human being. So we opposed slavery
and ran an underground railroad and did
whatever else we could to help slaves.
We also believed that men and women
were equal. So we started coeducational
schools and supported the Women’s
Right to Vote movement . These are
some of the extremist positions that
we've taken and now they are part of
our Constitution and our American way
of life. That’s the kind of extremism that
we Quakers supported, and that’s why
we are the way we are today.”
There is a force of truth, explained
Joe. “We practice what we can't see
happening yet. This is a gospel—the
Good News—calling us to live in a now,
but not yet, world. We are co-creators
with God. We must always doubt,
because doubt ministers to our faith. If
we think we have the truth, then we
have fallen off the path. We're always
seeking.”
Joe then spoke about a time not
long after 9/11 when FCNL put up a
banner up on FCNL’s building across
the street from the Hart Senate Office
Building. Those congressional staff and
Members of Congress could see: WAR
IS NOT THE ANSWER.
Putting up this banner was a very
tense moment because of the fear and
anger on the Hill. Later some
Congressional staff and colleagues from
other religious offices would come up
and say, “Thank you for putting up that
sign.”
Joe told the story of how the “War
is not the answer” yard sign came about.
An Atlanta, GA, monthly meeting had
trouble coming to unity about putting
up a banner. Some Friends objected
since the meetinghouse was being used
by groups that might not share this
Quaker witness, and they could be put
at risk. After a lot of discussion and
“seasoning,” they decided to make
individual lawn signs. “This idea got
back to FCNL, and they produced
thousand of signs. They became so
September 2006 FRIENDS BULLETIN
popular that over 150,000 signs and
bumper stickers have been distributed.”
Joe concluded by telling a story
about how we seek “security.”
Advertising campaigns were developed
by two competing car companies. Volvo
ran an ad that showed a Volvo hitting a
wall and the dummies are not damaged.
The ad said: “If you love your family,
buy a Volvo”. Subaru ran a similar ad
but when the Subaru was about to hit
the wall, it slammed on the brakes and
didn’t hit the wall. Subaru had a
different slogan: “If you love your family,
by a Volvo, or buy a Subaru, because we
have a better idea—brakes!”
Joe used this story to suggest that,
for national security, we need to use the
“Mourn the Dead, Heal the Wounded, End the War’:
A National Memorial Procession from Arlington
Cemetery to the White House, October 2, 2004.
Sponsored by the Iraq Pledge of Resistance,
www.peacepledge.org; photo © Matthew Bradley
Subaru approach and use our brakes
before we crash into a crisis situation.
He also made clear that he was in no
way suggesting that Subarus are better
vehicles than Volvos.
Q & A after Joe’s talk
What is the FCNL policy on immigration?
FCNL has a policy on immigration issues
and has been responsive to community-
based experience. In short, FCNL favors
open, well regulated borders in a national
and global context where all people are
free to travel and work and where labor
laws favor human rights. We see a nation
that is composed of mostly of immigrants,
and immigrants have built this county.
Now is not time to turn immigrants away.
Up to now, we haven't had money
to have an influence. We calculate that
it costs around $150,000 per year to
actually influence the direction of US
policy, to change the course of
superpower policies. You need to have
very smart senior lobbyists who can
work the system, and they need support,
too. Ruth Flowers has returned to
FCNL after ten years at the American
Association of University Professors
(AAUP), and she will take a lead role
to develop what FCNL can do on
immigration issues. FCNL will want to
draw on the experience and expertise of
Friends in the Quaker community and
, of course, with AFSC.
Is FCNL involved in the interfaith
peace and justice movement? We are very
involved. We have just restructured the
executive secretary's time so he can give
more time to interfaith activities, as well
as other initiatives. For example, FCNL
participated in a Christian-Muslim
exchange last year, that resulted in the
Muslim-Christian statement on the
nuclear danger which can be found on
FCNLs website, www.fenl.org.
How can we respond to the question,
‘If war isnt the answer, what is? “Joe
responded by calling attention to
FCNLs blue booklet called “If War Is
Not the Answer, What Is? Peaceful
prevention of deadly conflict.” Four or
five years ago, peaceful prevention of
deadly conflict was not in the ken of
government officials. Yet, last fall our
senior lobbyist went to an off-the-record
meeting where about 60 people from
Congress and various government
departments engaged these ideas. Why?
Because many people in government
have reached the conclusion that: War
— o-called hard power”— isn't working.
But war is bankrupting our government.
We're seeing in Washington a growing
momentum in thinking about the uses
of so-called “soft power” for the peaceful
prevention of deadly conflict. These
discussion are “under the radar” now but
may emerge as new policy initiatives in
future Congresses. 0
“Love the Strangers
as Yourself...”
Report by the Committee on Migrant
and Border Concerns
Intermountain Yearly Meeting , June 2006
“The strangers who scjourn with you shall be to you as the
natives among you, and you shall love them as yourself;
for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.”
(Leviticus 19:33-34)
“What you do to the least of my brethren, you do unto me.”
(Matthew 25:40)
e, as members of the Religious
Society of Friends, and as
residents of the Mexico-United States
border region, recognize that im-
migration to the US and to other
countries is part of a natural pattern
of economic and social exchange that
existed before the creation of this
border, which continues to benefit
both countries today. We also
recognize that much of the current
high level of migration results from
war and economic deprivation closely
linked to the domestic, foreign and
economic policies of our government
and of US and multinational corp-
orations.
While we support the right of the
government to enforce its just laws, we
recognize that many US immigration
laws are not just and are not defensible
or enforceable in any practical, moral
or ethical sense. We as Friends are
called by our faith and practice to see
the dignity and worth of every person,
to oppose exploitation and oppression,
and to witness and advocate for
change to unjust laws and systems. We
are called to work for a sustainable
peace in our border region and
throughout the world.
While we recognize the need to
protect the national security of the US
and of each nation and community
worldwide, we also recognize that
“national security” is often used as an
6
excuse to engender fear of the “other”
in our society and to maintain our own
way of life even at the expense of the
lives and the civil and human rights
of others. We observe that this
engenders nationalistic, xenophobic
and racist expressions in our society.
We see clearly that true national
security for the US lies in the building
of fair, just and sustainable social and
economic systems.
We now witness the implementa-
tion of low-intensity warfare strate-
gies along the US-Mexico border —
we see the most powerful and richest
nation on Earth waging war against
the poor. We see the increasing mili-
tarization of the border closing off safe
migration routes and causing the hor-
rific deaths of hundreds of human
beings every year. We know that many
thousands of men, women and chil-
dren have died in this crossing, in the
past ten years. We see that this bor-
der militarization separates families
and destroys social networks and com-
munities on both sides of the border.
We note that these unjust and inef-
fective immigration policies and the
militarization of the border have had
the unintended effect of “stranding”
many migrant workers on the US side
of the border by disrupting their tra-
ditional patterns of working in the US
while maintaining their homes and
families in Mexico and Central
September 2006
Immigrant Rights Rally in Denver, CO
America. We see billions of dollars,
desperately needed for infrastructure
and economic development, and for
health and education, wasted instead
on a fruitless and misguided effort to
stem historical and economically im-
portant migration.
We recognize that our current
national policy creates an untenable
and unjust situation wherein 12
million people live and work in the US
without legal rights or protections. We
see that this disenfranchisement leads
to systemic violation of human, civil
and labor rights and protections. We
observe that this leads directly to
disruptions in wage scales and
working conditions for all workers,
and to disruptions in the essential
labor supply for many industries and
agricultural businesses in the US and
elsewhere. We note the contradictions
between the free flow of capital,
materials, goods and services across
international boundaries versus the
constriction of the movement of
working people.
Wer recopnizemthattwen as
privileged residents of the first world,
benefit from the labor of those who
suffer exploitation and deprivation on
both sides of the border as a result of
discrimination and unfair wages. We
admit our ignorance and complicity in
these unjust systems, and our failure
to recognize how we benefit from the
FRIENDS BULLETIN
oppression of others in order to
support our individual consumerism
and corporate greed. We recognize our
complicity in dehumanizing and
demonizing the migrant in our midst.
The Committee on Migrant and
Border Concerns of Intermountain
Yearly Meeting [IMYM] of the
Religious Society of Friends, meeting
in Ghost Ranch, Abiquiu, New
Mexico in June 2006, therefore
minutes the following:
We dedicate ourselves to
study and to prayer on local and
global issues of migration and
humane solutions to situations of
economic injustice.
We commit to support
migrant and immigrant
individuals and families. We com-
mit ourselves to active witness,
and to support those of our
Meetings and other faith and
justice communities who may
suffer consequences for such
witness.
We oppose the militarization
of the Mexico-US border,
including the building of walls
and the deployment of troops. We
call for immediate and adequate
provision to assure the safety of
persons who migrate for economic
reasons as well as for those who
seek refuge. We call upon the US
to honor its treaty obligations and
to observe international law in
these and in all respects.
We support comprehensive
immigration reform, including:
provisions for reasonably
regulated safe passage of migrants
and refugees; legalization of
persons now living and working in
the US who now contribute to the
well-being of our economy and
communities; support for family
reunification; consideration of
future migration flows; and,
respect for the rights and dignity
of all, including the protections of
labor and civil rights.
This statement will be sent to
Quaker organizations including
FCNL and AFSC, to local and
national media, and to our
executive, legislative and con-
gressional representatives, urging
their attention to and pursuit of
humane, fair, reasonable and
comprehensive reform of US law.
We will urge them to work with
us to relieve these conditions
above enumerated, and to
participate with persons of good
will world-wide in building a just,
fair and sustainable system of
trade and economic development.
Submitted in love, witness and
solidarity by these members of the
IMYM Committee on Migrant and
Border Concerns:
—Danielle Short, Jonathan Cartland,
David Perkins, David Henkel, David
Baird, Tom Kowal, Karen Fleming,
Mary Burton Riseley, Eric Wright, Jose
L. Ramirez, Theresa Walker, and Judy
Cottell.
The Clarence and Lilly Pickett Endowment awarded six grants this year
to support emerging Quaker leadership
Joseph Shamala Mmbere
- Kakamega Friends, Kenya. He is
mentoring selected Kenyan youth
to participate in an all African
Youth Peace Conference in
Rwanda, East Africa.
Keevy Harris - Cedar Square
Friends, NC. She assisted NC
youth groups in developing posi-
>4 tive relationships with MOWA
Chociaw youth.
Kathryn Lum - Lund
|_| Friends, Sweden, She is assisting
}{ Sikh women in Punjab, India, in
their search for spiritual equality.
September 2006 FRIENDS BULLETIN
Danielle Brown - Deep
Creek Friends, NC. She coordinat-
ed summer youth activities among &
MOWA Choctaw Friends in
Alabama.
Anna Staab - Purchase
Friends, NY, She made a video
documentary of the largest Powell
House reunion in its four decade
history held July 13-16, 2006,
Jonathan Watts - QLsp,
Guilford, NC, and Richmond
Friends, VA. With a coalition of
artists, he will make available dis-
tinctly Quaker recorded music to
bring Friends together.
Interfaith Peacemaking and the Legacy of Tom Fox
e Friends should be grateful to
Chuck Fager and Florence Full-
erton for honoring in print the memory
of Tom Fox, who, by sacrificing his life
in Iraq, has become one of the world’s
best known and most widely respected
Quakers.
Thanks to the Wider Quaker Fell-
owship, an outreach of Friends World
Committee for Consultation, Florence
Fullerton’s pamphlet is being circulated
world-wide. It concludes with a passage
from Tom’s blog that I found extremely
moving and relevant. Describing a
birthday celebration for the Prophet
Mohammed in which he participated
along with guests from the Iraqi criics
of Najaf and Kerbala, Tom writes:
For grace before the meal, a CP Ter
(Christian Peacemaker Team) went
into the office and opened the
team’s Arabic Quran and put his
finger down on this passage:
One day shalt thou see the believing
men and the believing women—how
their Light runs forward before them.
And by their right hands their greeting
will be, ‘Good news for you this Day!
Gardens beneath which flow rivers! To
dwell therein forever. This indeed 1s
the highest achievement. Sura 2, 12.
... This opened up a discussion of the
tradition in Islam, Christianity and |
Judaism of throwing open the holy
book of that faith tradition and
reading the first passage that your
eyes fall upon. Is this superstition?
Does it have any relevance for our
broken lives and chaotic world?
Tom went on to observe that the
people of Iraq are very angry, for
understandable reasons; and the role of
the CPT is to demonstrate how God’s
grace and light can make a difference:
We are throwing ourselves open to
by Anthony Manousos
Santa Monica (CA) Meeting
the possibility of God’s grace
bringing some rays of light to the
shadowy landscape that is Iraq...
Everyone whose government and
corporations are playing a role in
this land needs to throw open the
book of their heart... That truly
would be the highest achievement.
Although Tom considered himself
a Christian, he was open to spiritual
insights from other religions, such as
Buddhism, Judaism, and Islam. He went
to Israel/Palestine and listened to all
sides in this tragic conflict. He lived
side-by-side with the Iraqi people and
took up their cause and their concerns.
He showed by his example what it
means to “walk cheerfully on the earth,
answering that of God in everyone.”
When news of Fox’s death was
announced, he was deeply mourned by
the Muslim community, which will
always remember and honor him. A
young Muslim man I know named Yasir
Shah wrote a letter to Friends Bulletin
when he learned of Tom Fox’s death:
“Tm heart-broken to say that it’s only
recently that I’ve come to find out about
such a courageous and dedicated man...
I believe that Tom Fox’s family, the
American people, and the Iraqi people
were blessed to have someone of his
caliber to fight for them... I pray that
we may increase our unity in the stand ,
against injustice, and continue to strive
for the rights of all humans.”
Not all of us have the calling or
courage to follow Tom’s example. But
we are called to honor his memory and
to carry forward his spirit in our
Quaker witness to the world. Let us
therefore read and take Tom’s words
to heart. 0
Was My Friend
Yours, Too.
Sa
From Kimo Press
P.O. Box 1344
Fayetteville NC 28302
A Book of
Remembrance &
Reflection.
24 Authors Ponder
The Life and Witness
of a Quaker Martyr.
For Personal Devotion,
or Group Study.
Tom Fox
Was My Friend.
Yours, Too.
Compiled & Edited
by Chuck Fager.
105 pp., Paperback
$9.95 postpaid.
Quantity Rates Available.
September 2006
FRIENDS KULLETIN
The Perils of Being Black or Brown
in a US Border Town
by Eisha Mason
Associate Director, Pacific Southwest Region, American Friends Service Committee
am waiting to board a train in San
Diego when I notice a Border Patrol
agent making his way down our line. He
stops by each person who looks “Latino”
and asks them to present their legal
documents. As the people standing next
to me rummage for their identity pa-
pers, I stand by, angry, embarrassed, and
ashamed. In that moment, I don't know
what to say or do to protest.
My mind suddenly travels back in
time. I “remember” what it must have
been like during slavery for Black people
who made it to the North. If they had
no papers, they were doomed to live
each day in fear. If they were “legalized”
by free papers, they still always needed
these documents, no matter who they
were or how old they were or how long
they had lived in their community.
These papers were all that stood
between them and being “deported” and
returned to their slave status. My mind
traveled across the ocean to South
Africa, to a time not so long ago when
the lives of African people in South
Africa were controlled by the dreaded
EIsHA MASON ts
Associate Re-
gional Director
for the Pacific
Southwest Region
of AF'SC, was co-
founder of Soul-
force Trainings,
and hosts The
Morning Review
every other ~
Thursday on
KPFK between 7:00 AM and 8:00 AM.
Reprinted from Peacework, June 2006
(www.afsc.org/peacework), this article
was originally published at
www.blackcommentator.com.
September 2006 FRIENDS BULLETIN
Pass Laws that made it compulsory to
carry papers at all times. The person
without the pass was considered “illegal”
and he or she could be put in detention
or sent to the rural government-created
“homelands” for Blacks called bant-
ustans. Much like proposed guest
worker programs for immigrants, the
South African Pass Laws Act specified
where and when African citizens could
travel, and how long they could stay.
My mind returns to the present. As
the immigrant rights movement is
building momentum nationwide,
African Americans debate about where
we should stand on immigration issues
—shoulder to shoulder with im-
migrants, in direct opposition, or on the
sidelines. I believe that if we look just
under the surface, we can see that our
Black and Brown fates are deeply
intertwined.
As I learned from the Rights on the
Line video about the phenomenon of
the vigilante movement along the US-
Mexico border, self-styled “Minutemen”
are on “night patrol,” literally hunting
the people trying to cross the border into
the US. Dressed in their military garb,
with flashlights, walkie-talkies and
weapons, the militias freely wield the
privilege and the power of race and their
legal status. As I watched them
rounding up frightened men and
women, the hair on my arms rose. This
time, too, | seemed to actually “re-
member” the plight of runaway slaves,
the fear and desperation they felt as they
were tracked and trapped by white
militias and returned to a life where their
labor was exploited and their lives were
not in their control.
As the Black-Brown debate
continues, I see that we have both been
sources of cheap labor. First, Africans
were the slaves required to perpetuate
the globalized economics of the 1700s
known as the Triangle Trade (slaves,
sugar, and rum). Today, Latinos are the
cheap labor required for magquiladoras
south of the border, international
agribusiness, and jobs at the lowest
rungs of the US economy. Proposals for
guest worker programs only perpetuate
this model of workers without rights or
protection. Black and Brown people
have far more in common than we often
realize.
Both Black and Brown are targets
of the racism used to justify unjust
political, economic, and social policy.
Past and present, members of these
exploited and marginalized com-
munities are portrayed as different from
and less than other Americans. The
poison of racism continues to allow
those who are privileged to feel morally
justified as they exploit and dehumanize
people who provide “cheap labor” and
simultaneously blame them for their lot
in life.
Both Black and Brown share
common dreams of work with dignity,
a better life for our families and our
children. Isn’t that why slaves escaped
to the North, and why freed slaves
initiated the Northern Migration? Isn’t
that why people from other countries
risk their lives to reach the US today?
We all desire the opportunity to build a
life and to be respected and accepted
members of the communities and
country where we live.
Black and Brown are not each
other’s adversaries; we are natural allies.
The economic and political forces that
doomed millions of Africans to serv-
itude and later to second-class
9
citizenship are the same forces
responsible for unsustainable economic
conditions in many foreign countries
and the current migration of people to
the US. They are the same forces
responsible for conflict over jobs, wages,
and economic opportunity in the US, a
conflict that “results” in racism,
discrimination, and _ repressive
legislation.
Because issues of labor, im-
migration, and race are deeply en-
meshed, we should be working to-
gether toward solutions that include all
of us. We must protect the rights and
dignity of individuals who have come
to the US to work: raise labor standards
and wages on both sides of the border
through reform of international trade
policy; protect local economies every-
where, rather than allow them to be
overwhelmed by trade agreements
favoring international corporations; and
guarantee that every US worker has the
right and the protection to form a labor
union. We must organize!
The border patrol officer is gone.
Boarding the train in San Diego, I
remember the words of Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr.: “We are caught in
an escapable network of mutuality,
tied in a single garment of destiny.”
Black faces...brown faces... human
faces.... My heart feels what my mind
already knows. The people from across
the border are not the problem. A
system of economic exploitation and
racism is the problem. Rather than
believing our interests are in conflict,
Black and Brown must stand 1n unity
and work together to transform this
system. There is ultimately one
movement—the movement for
human dignity and opportunity —and
rani part on it es
Intermountain Yearly Meeting
Epistles and Minutes
INTERMOUNTAIN YEARLY MEETING
EPISTLE 2006
‘I saw, also, that there was an ocean of
darkness and death; but an infinite ocean of
light and love, which flowed over the ocean
of darkness.” —George Fox
Dear Friends Everywhere,
As the Friends of Intermountain
Yearly Meeting gathered June 14 through
18, 2006, the ocean of darkness was at
high tide. Our country continued to be
mired in the war in Iraq, our military was
accused of torture; genocide raged in
Darfur; and we mourned the loss of
Quaker peace activist Tom Fox.
Thousands of people have died in the
desert while crossing our militarized
southern border. One truth had become
clear: we have inflicted possibly
irreversible damage on our earth.
But the ocean of love was rising to
meet the ocean of darkness. For Quakers
in the Southwestern US, this is a time of
building and growth, spiritual renewal
and acting on our convictions.
It is a time, as our 2006 yearly
meeting theme instructed us, to feel “The
Force of Truth and the Power of Love.”
As the 320 Quakers who met here
attended interest groups issues such war,
torture, border concerns and
10
environmental crisis, we were
heartened by the almost startlingly
positive message of our keynote
speaker, Joe Volk of the Friends
Committee on National
Legislation (FCNL).
Friend Volk reminded us that
truth and love have a power of their
own that, over time, always prevails. He
named our recent victories in Congress:
progress on immigration reform; nuclear
weapons reduction; and legislation
barring permanent bases in Iraq.
FCNUs Civil War-era office building
in Washington, DC, lovingly restored
with donations from Quakers across the
country, stands as testimony to American
Quakers’ awakening commitment to the
environment. It was built with the
“greenest possible” technology and is
attracting much interest on Capitol Hill.
A growing number of yearly
meetings are affiliating with Quaker
Earthcare Witness. Ruah Swannerfelt
and Louis Cox of that organization came
to IMYM to help us understand the
spiritual foundations of our caring for the
earth and to encourage our participation
in QEW.
Here at our own beloved meeting
place, Ghost Ranch, New Mexico, the
physical landscape is changing. Two new
housing units, a retreat center and a
September 2006
‘L. tor: Judy Ray (recording clerk), Rebecca Henderson ‘
and Cynthia Smith (co-clerks)
worship center are going up concurrent
with our worship sharing.
We have seen growth in our
monetary resources as well, and both the
meeting and our IMYM-American
Friends Service Committee Joint Service
Project are on solid financial footing. The
JSP (Joint Service Project) logged its
most service projects ever, including a
several-week stint rebuilding homes
ravaged by Hurricane Katrina.
With growth, of course, come
growing pains, and some meetings
struggled to accommodate the influx of
new attenders and new ideas. “Without
conflict, there can be no diversity,”
reported Pima (AZ) Monthly Meeting,
and that held true with our yearly meeting
as well. We addressed a conflict regarding
our support of the Joint Service Project,
which brought us growth and greater
understanding. Out of this discussion
came expressions of concern and
suggestions for improvement as well as
heartfelt support for the JSP. How do we
act on our spiritual convictions about
FRIENDS BULLETIN
service while providing a respectful and
loving environment for both volunteers
and the community being served?
Unity came easily on a minute urging
our government to ban all further research
and development of nuclear weapons.
Also approved was a minute committing
IMYM'’s spiritual and financial support
to an FCNL staff position covering
immigration and border concerns. There
is much energy regarding continued
discussion of the yearly meeting’s
involvement in this complex and urgent
issue.
Two long-term projects came to
fruition. IMYM has its very own Faith
and Practice, thanks to the efforts of a
dedicated committee, some of whom have
been involved in this task since 1993. It
will be seasoned among the monthly
meetings in the year to come. And the
trusty Guide to Operations has been
updated and posted on our website,
imym.org, for easy access. Look for more
and more useful material on our evolving
website.
Friends approved the formation of a
committee and financial support toward
the adoption of the Spiritual Formation
Program in our yearly meeting.
Individually, many Friends have
experienced growth and building in their
own lives. One Friend, Joanne Cowan of
Boulder (CO) Monthly Meeting, recently
completed a 60-day sentence in federal
prison for going under the fence
(trespassing) at the School of the
Americas to protest our government’s
teaching of torture.
As always, yearly meeting provided
a respite from the demands of daily life
and the opportunity to re-evaluate our
commitments, perhaps shedding those
which crowd out joy. We celebrated our
joyous fellowship with singing, dancing,
hiking and music-making.
A turn volunteering with the children
or Junior Young Friends gave several
adults a reminder of just how joyful life
can be. Our Senior Young Friends
impressed and inspired us with their
presentations on the World Gatherings
of Young Friends in England and Kenya.
Our Young Adult Friends are establishing
an identity within our yearly meeting and
September 2006 FRIENDS BULLETIN
issuing an invitation for others to join
them.
Ghost Ranch showed us all its faces
this year, from sunny to stormy to a
peaceful, refreshing cloud cover. For the
first time anybody could remember, the
famous no-see-ums were nowhere to be
seen.
Here in the high desert, Ghost Ranch
Manager Robert Craig reminded us,
“We're a little bit vulnerable (and
therefore more available) for God to work
on us.” Indeed, it is when we are at our
most powerless that we are most open to
the force of truth and the power of love.
In peace, Rebecca Henderson and Cynthia
Risa Thron-Weber
SENIOR YOUNG FRIENDS EPISTLE
[At the business session, Senior Young
Friends requested from Friends gathered
there a spontaneous and random offering of
verbs, adverbs, nouns, and adjectives. From
these, the underlined words 1n the following
letter were selected, and the letter was read
after these responses were inserted. |
Drawn to another year of IMYM by
the force of apples and the power of
friends, the SYF joined again in the
beautiful Ghost Ranch, New Mexico
(US). It was a sandy year starting in the
early dogs and continuing at full power
through the week. The gathered days
walked full of lots of game singing and
the occasional trusting conversation. We
were truthful to find that we had 50 SYF
for the early days and were able to want
even closer than some chimney rocks.
When the yearly love started hungrily, we
commenced our universal behavior, caring
intergenerational worship, twirling, and
sleeping very prickly. One night we
paired up and looked into each other’s
compassions for a number of centuries.
This was a slowly intense experience for
all fun and observers. On Friday night
we went on a camp out but there was no
gopher so we had no lunch. Since we had
to turn in our epistle so early Saturday
morning we didn’t have time to play
anything else.
JUNIOR YOUNG FRIENDS EPISTLE
Dear Friends of the World, We are the
Junior Young Friends of Intermountain
Yearly Meeting, and we send you our
greetings from our (June) 2006 gathering
at Ghost Ranch in New Mexico (US).
We write to tell you of the trans-
formational experiences we have had this
year at Ghost Ranch. We are thankful
that activities which outwardly might
seem to be just fun can touch our inner
lives:
e We built community through low
ropes and high ropes courses.
e We went canoeing and kayaking
on Abiquiu Lake, and were happy to be
joined on the water by a developmentally
disabled child who was our age and would
otherwise have been in our group.
e We participated in fun games with
both the Senior Young Friends and the
Children’s Yearly Meeting.
e We enjoyed building our
relationships through playing fussball and
table tennis while hanging out at the
cantina.
e We had almost twice as many
attendees in our program this year as last
year, and we note that half of us arrived
for the “Early Days” of the Yearly
Meeting.
e During the Early Days, we enjoyed
the freedom our trusting parents gave us,
and we did not let them down. We
enjoyed many hikes, experiencing that of
God in high and low places.
e Some of us participated in the Early
Days IMYM-AFSC Joint Service Project
with the Tewa people in the Pojoaque
“Epistles” continued on page 14
11
intermountain Yearly
Meeting in Pictures
Top: Gay and Lesbian Friends: Mary Hey, Judy Catlett, Bez
McCauley, Dennis Barrett, Peli Lee, and ?.
Middle left: Caz Bowman from Australia Yearly Meeting.
Middle right: “Oldest and youngest attender,” Robert
Solenberger (Pima Meeting, Tucson, AZ; age ca. 90) and Sarah
Feitler (Boulder, CO) with her daughter Rose, born in February
2006. Photo by Valerie Ireland.
Bottom of page: Friends Committee on Legislation letter-
writing table with Sarah Medvescek in the center.
WITH INDIA
12 September 2006 FRIENDS BULLETIN
Assisted by Nadean Mills (Durango, CO, Meeting) elementary
age Friends (Maggie and Amedia Wigdon and Madison
Norcross, picture below) created a puppet theater honoring
Quakers whose lives testify to Quaker values. Among those
honored was Mike Gray (above), coordinator of the AFSC/
IMYM Joint Service Project for the past 15 years.
Vining Ghat
: ANP essen tint,
SOHNE Teetonse
Siehilicnn i
abe
Aw NS fhe Gecasing foe BAF:
eohkin; Justice andl wally jy
c duseiinetlor
Left: Mark Holdoway, Junior Young
Friend advisor.
Right: Milagre Coates, Junior Young
Friend co-clerk
September 2006 FRIENDS BULLETIN
Pueblo, and we rebuilt the gateway to the
ceremonial grounds where they hold their
annual gathering for Mother Earth.
e We enjoyed Alternatives to
Violence Project activities each day.
These helped us to work together as a
community.
e Each year we have a Junior Young
Friends campout, and this year we feel
we have found our camping home at
Padre Jim Bridge, a beautiful spot for
camping about two miles from Ghost
Ranch. We thank Mike Gray for taking
us there and back and being with us
overnight.
e We were unhappy that we were not
able to light a fire during our campout.
This is because of an extended drought
in the Southwest (US). We are all
concerned about climate change, but we
enjoyed the fact that no bugs bothered us
this year.
e While sitting around the empty fire
ring at the campout writing our epistle,
we were visited by three donkeys in the
dark. They ate our shortbread, which
made for much excitement and gave some
of us a laugh.
e We look forward to meeting with
Joe Volk (Executive Director of FCNL)
and will provide an addition to the epistle
after we do.
During this year at Ghost Ranch, we
were able to have fun and work through
our problems using Quaker methods.
While we were working on the JYF skit,
the group got into a disagreement. We
fought, and some of us got emotional to
the point they had to leave. The
remaining individuals went into worship.
After adult leadership left to care for the
others who had gone, we discussed what
happened and we understood each other.
The upset people came back, and we
acknowledged our part in the dispute and
accepted responsibility for our actions.
After all we went through, we ended with
a Quakerly spirit and a deeper friendship
in our hearts.
We look forward to next year and
hope it is as enlightening as this year,
and we anticipate growing in the year
to come. O
14
CHILDREN’S YEARLY MEETING
EPISTLE
Dear around-the-world Friends,
Hello from Children’s Yearly Meeting at
Intermountain Yearly Meeting. We are
at Ghost Ranch in northern New Mexico
an oasis in a high, hot and windy desert.
Thank God for the swimming pool. We
have tons of fun here. Some of the things
we've done are: kickball, volleyball,
swimming, and “groundies” (a game like
tag). We went to the Ghost Ranch
museum where we learned about
dinosaurs and early settlers, and did tin
work. We learned that celophysis, a
dinosaur discovered here, was the first
dinosaur found in New Mexico. We have
learned a lot and enjoyed being together.
We'll write again next year. Till then,
IMYM rocks!
—Miulagre Coates, Megan Richardson,
Keegan Matney
Minutes Approved
by Intermountain
Yearly Meeting
MINUTE ON BORDER CONCERNS
AND FRIENDS COMMITTEE ON
NATIONAL LEGISLATION FROM
GILa (NM) FRIENDS MEETING
In an era of globalization, when
goods and capital flow freely across
national boundaries, often the movement
of human beings is tragically exploitative.
Immigrants across the globe risk their
lives and family ties for low-paying jobs
in foreign countries.
Nowhere are the unresolved
issues of immigration more costly than
on the border between the United States
and Mexico. Since 1995, more than 2600
people have died while trying to cross the
deserts of America’s southwestern states.
The annual death toll is rising.
The causes of increasing immigration
are complex, but for Friends the call to
witness for humanitarian justice is clear.
At a time when there is pending
legislation in Congress on immigration
reform, the Friends Committee on
National Legislation is prepared to staff
September 2006
a position solely devoted to border and
immigration issues.
FCNL seeks expressions of
commitment from Yearly Meetings in our
region to sustain this work. Recognizing
the longstanding involvement of Friends
in movements such as the Underground
Railroad and the Sanctuary Movement,
Intermountain Yearly Meeting commits
its spiritual and financial support to the
FCNL in its new work on economic
justice and immigration.
CALL FOR NUCLEAR
DISARMAMENT
FROM ALBUQUERQUE (NM)
MONTHLY MEETING
We call upon our elected leaders to:
* Stop the design and manufacture
of all nuclear weapons, including
plutonium bomb cores (“pits”) at Los
Alamos and elsewhere.
¢ Dismantle our arsenal in concert
with other nuclear powers, pursuant to
Article VI of the Nuclear Non-
Proliferation Treaty. As the most powerful
nation on earth, the U.S. must take the
first steps in this process.
* Halt disposal of nuclear waste at
Los Alamos, as thousands of citizens and
dozens of environmental organizations
have already requested.
MINUTE FOR A PILOT
SPIRITUAL FORMATION PROGRAM
The Yearly Meeting asks the
Spiritual Formation Group to serve as an
ad hoc yearly meeting committee to
develop and implement a pilot spiritual
formation program over the coming two
years. This program will seek to feed the
spiritual hunger of individuals, meetings
and worship groups, increase knowledge
of and identification with Quaker
experience in the wider world, and
support inter-visitation among our
various meeting and worship groups.
The Group will report to the
Executive Committee and annual
sessions. The membership will develop
according to interest and need. The
Group will choose its own clerk.
Continued on page 22
FRIENDS BULLETIN
Prisoner of conscience
speaks out on war, torture, and
“unexpected grace”
by Joanne N. Cowan
Boulder (CO) Meeting
| attended IMYM this year less than
a week after my release from Federal
Prison for a nonviolent act of civil
disobedience, protesting the existence of
the notorious School of the Americas
(SOA) and I was asked to write about
my experience.
I'm beginning with what is most
important: not what J did, but about
what you can do to oppose the SOA.
First, if you can, go to www.soaw.org to
learn (more) about the School of the
Americas (renamed in 2001 Western
Hemisphere Institute for Security
Cooperation (WHINSEC), about
School of the Americas Watch
(SOAW), and the brave work of former
Maryknoll priest Roy Bourgeois and
hundreds of others.
This year there will be another
demonstration and memorial vigil
outside the gates of Fort Benning
(Columbus, GA, home of the SOA) on
the weekend of November 17-19 and
likely there will be more priests, nuns,
Quakers, and other human rights
defenders called to oppose the shameful
existence of the SOA.
Last November 20, along with 36
others, I crawled under a fence to sit in
a prayer circle on the grounds of Fort
Benning, as nonviolent witness against
the teaching and exporting of torture
techniques from a facility existing for
decades, paid for by our taxes, and from
which graduates go forth and commit
horrific acts of violence. We were
arrested for misdemeanor criminal
trespass, tried and convicted in January,
September 2006 FRIENDS BULLETIN
Joanne N. Cowan
2006, and sentenced collectively to over
nine years in Federal Prison. I received
a sixty day sentence and was released
June 7.
I feel honored to have joined the
nonviolent witness against the SOA that
in the last sixteen years has brought 215
individuals into prison, incredibly
serving collectively over ninety-nine
years, either in prison or on probation.
I didn’t act impulsively or abruptly. The
call for me began with hearing IMYM’s
plenary talk in 2005 given by Jane Orion
Smith, entitled “Shaking the Found-
ations: A Call to Prophesy.” I was sup-
ported in my leading first by a Clearness
Committee that faithfully tested this
call (which later morphed into a
Continuing Concern Committee), held
tenderly throughout by the Boulder
Meeting of Friends, It was also
supported by the competent and
diligent attention of the people at
School of the Americas Watch, founded
16 years ago by Father Roy, with the
goal of closing the SOA whose purpose
is never to forget the murders and
atrocities committed by graduates of the
School against Archbishop Oscar
Romero, Jesuit priests, Maryknoll nuns
and countless innocent civilians.
lvexperienced’ an unexpected
opportunity of grace during my
imprisonment,:where I could learn from
and listen to the compelling and sad
stories of many women, incarcerated for
crimes that frequently arose from lives
burdened by sexual abuse, racism,
classism, who lack the opport-unities
privilege avails. I now retain the chance
of knowing these women better as we
correspond.
Incarceration immersed me in a
world of paternalistic denial of privilege,
pervasive control, and mandated slave-
wage labor. However, at the same time
I participated in and learned about a
flourishing “inside” culture of creativity
and individualization. The frank open-
ness from the women I met (from many
walks of life and colors) to receive the love
and compassion | brought with me into
the prison enabled me to reach new
personal understandings of generosity and
mindful caring. In certain ways, it was a
blessing I completed, not solely a sentence.
My activism against the SOA
sprang from opposition to this illegal,
immoral war we continue to allow. We
must all, always, engage the struggle for
peace in whatever ways we find. My
life circumstances allowed me to under-
take this prison journey, which would
have been impossible without the
support of many F(f)riends. I learned
something I hope to never forget:
when we live from our hearts, the
Divine is always with us. We can never
know what awaits us in anything we
choose to do. O
US)
Epistle on
Global
Warming
_—” presented at the
Zopay we Friends General
Conference
Gathering in Tacoma, WA*
THE EARIM IS GROWING HOLTERE ee
result of choices we have made. The signs are all
around us in rising yearly average temperatures,
melting glaciers, expanding deserts, increasing rates
of extinctions, and weather extremes. There is unity
within the scientific community that this is serious,
that it is caused by human activity, and that the
consequences of a failure to address global warming
will be catastrophic.
We have a small window of opportunity. Over
the course of the next nine years, if humanity fails
to significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions, the
result is likely to be a sea level rise of 10 to 13 feet
per century until the level stabilizes at 80 feet above
today’s level. Loss of productivity in ecosystems and
crops worldwide will also occur, resulting in mass
starvation.
We appeal to all Friends to make this concern
a priority in our families, communities, and
meetings, and to commit ourselves to learn more
about this urgent planetary crisis, so that each of us
may discern further actions that will be required of
us.
Some actions that we can recommend at this
time include:
* Reduce our own greenhouse gas emissions by
10% in the coming year by cutting driving, flying,
and residential energy use. Walk and bicycle more,
use mass transit and fluorescent light bulbs.
¢ When we have cut our own use of fossil fuel,
labor with others to help them do the same.
* Labor with our legislators and if that doesn’t
work, replace them.
We urge Friends as individuals and as meetings
to engage the conversation and to stay with it.
Meetings should institute quarterly threshing
sessions to discern how we are led corporately to
act.
“This epistle is from the participants in Karen Streets
workshop, “Changing Climate, Changing Selves” which
took place at the Western Gathering of Friends General
Conference. It 1s not an official statement of FGC.
16
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Some of the changes that concern us deeply we can not escape.
But others we can escape if we act responsibly now and into the future.
The consequences of not acting are unthinkable for us, our children,
and our grandchildren.
Friends, we urge you to attend to our call. For the love of
everything you hold most dear, please take up this concern now and
carry it back to your meeting.
Many references are available on this topic such as
www.climatecrisis.org, www.pathsoflight.us/musing, and the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change found at www.unep.ch/
ipcc/. This document can be found on www.LeavesofGrass.org.
Karen Street's comments on the Epistle
KAREN STREET, @ concerned environmentalist from Berkeley (CA)
Meeting led the workshop which inspired the above epistle. She posted the
following comments in her blog (http://pathsoflight.us/musing/index. php).
Tf you would like to respond to the epistle or to Karen’s comments, please
reply to Friends Bulletin at friendsbulletin@aol.com or directly to her blog.
The nine-year window of opportunity mentioned comes from
the analysis of climatologists and policy people. In order to keep
cumulative temperature increase below 2 C, we must do the following:
Step 1: Reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2015 to
2005 levels, or perhaps 10% lower than 2005 levels, even as population
and per capita consumption continue to increase. Without success in
step 1, there is no step 2 that will work.
Step 2: Reduce GHG emissions 60% or 60%+ or 60%++ by 2050
or earlier. Even as population and per capita consumption continue
to increase.
Step 3: Zero out carbon dioxide emissions to protect the oceans,
which are acidifying as they absorb carbon dioxide from the
atmosphere.
The writers of the epistle wanted to keep it short, and so em-
phasized only the first timeline; many Friends and many in the public
September 2006 FRIENDS BULLETIN
Me THE
AROUND ”
FAC
THE .POUCY!
HE
Cartoons © Trudy Myrrh, Palo Alto (CA) Meeting
“If mere thousands of Easter Islanders with only stone tools and their
own muscle power sufficed to destroy their society, how can billions of
people with metal tools and machine power fail to do worse? But there
is one crucial difference. The Easter Islanders had no books and no
histories of other doomed societies. Unlike the Easter Islanders, we
have histories of the past—information that can save us. My main
hope for my sons’ generation 1s that we may now choose to learn from
the fates of societies like Easters.”—Jared Diamond, “Easter Island’
End,” Discovery Magazine, August 1995.
believe that we have less to do and longer to do it in.
Someone responded to my blog noting that people deserve
acknowledgment for changes already made. (Brief pause to consider
these changes, whether they were easy or hard, but to take credit for
either.)
However, I have cut my own emissions and see clear means of
cutting my emissions by 10% or more. Perhaps others do as well. I
would think that most Americans, including those who emit less
than the American average, could reduce our GHG emissions 10%
without substantial harm or inconvenience.
I would be surprised to learn that changing policy is considered
a third option. As I understand it, all need to be done simultaneously
and immediately.
Al Gore tells us in his film, 4n Inconvenient Truth to labor with
our legislators, and if that doesn’t work, replace them. To get some
idea where your Senator is on climate change, see http://
www.climatenetwork.org/uscanweb/csadocs/mlvote.pdf on the
McCain-Lieberman Climate Stewardship Act. If your Senator voted
against it, they may have justifications. They have no excuse.
What is it that we want our national legislators to do?
* Carbon cap and trade.
* Double fuel economy for cars and light trucks and raise fuel
prices so that we don’t increase driving as driving costs drop.
- Tax our own energy use to pay the developing world’s cost of
September 2006 FRIENDS BULLETIN
reducing GHG emissions.
Carbon cap and trade, or GHG cap and trade,
is the setting of caps on the amount of carbon
dioxide/GHG that can be emitted in a country or
economic sector such as electric power production,
and then allowing the trading of permits so that
industry finds the cheapest ways to reduce carbon/
GHG emissions.
US per capita GDP is 30 times that in China,
and our share of the cumulative emissions to date is
much greater than China’s, even though their
population is greater. Who should pay?
Some Republicans are uncertain of the science,
which if you avoid reading the science, is pretty easy.
Some Democrats are more interested in making sure
that solutions don’t include nuclear power, but there
is no solution without nuclear power. Whatever their
justifications, they have no excuses — we must reduce
GHG emissions to 2005 levels, or lower, by 2015,
even as population and third world emissions
increase. And then cut much more rapidly and
radically by 2050. And then zero out carbon
emissions.
Some legislators argue that we cannot afford
these policies. John Holdren says that these extra
economic burdens mean that we will not reach 2050
levels of prosperity until 2051 or 2052. What he does
not say, but implies, is that without taking on these
economic burdens to reduce the impact of climate
change, we may never reach 2050 levels of prosperity.
What else can national legislators do? Require
that state policy—building codes,where people are
allowed to live, water policy, ete—include adaptation
to climate change. Adaptation will be required in
the lifetime of buildings built today. Does it really
make sense to resettle the coasts in Florida and
Louisiana?
In some countries, fuel taxes are a significant
source of revenue. Our legislators should at least
request studies on the economic effects of phasing
in high fuel taxes (on airplane fuel as well). Besides
reducing other new taxes planned for January 2009,
high fuel taxes lower the price per barrel paid to oil
producers (European countries pay less for their oil
than we do). High fuel prices provide stability, so
that price increases due to political insecurity don’t
have the same shock value, because prices start out
high. High fuel taxes will be part of any carbon cap
and trade program, but they can also be part of a
more rational economic policy.
I hope to post on laboring with California
legislators soon. Rule of thumb: support all of the
new legislation being proposed to implement
recommendations of the Climate Action Team. 0
D7
BILL AND GENIE DURLAND
HONORED BY AFSC AND AT
INTERMOUNTAIN YEARLY
MEETING
ongtime Quakers, Bill and Genie Durland have
been legends in the non-violent struggle for
justice and peace both in Colorado and around the
world for 35 years.
An attorney and professor, Bill brought four cases
on war tax resistance to the US Supreme Court in the
1980s. He has also served as an expert witness on
constitutional and international law in a number of
civil disobedience trials of peace activists. Together,
the Durlands founded and operated the National
Center on Law and Pacifism from 1977 to 1989.
During that time, they wrote several manuals and a
bi-monthly journal on war tax resistance and civil
disobedience.
In 1985, the Durlands lived in the Palestinian
Occupied Territories for six months. They returned to
Palestine in 2001, 2002, and 2004 as members of
Christian Peacemaker Team delegations and traveled
with CPT to Iraq over the Christmas and New
Years’ holidays, 2002-2003, as the war loomed. Bill
has written a book, Immoral Wars, Illegal Laws about
the legal and theological roots of the Palestinian-
Israeli conflict. Recently Bill defended Amy Bartell
in Colorado Springs, the wife of a US Army
Conscientious Objector. Well known to peace
activists and CPTers in Colorado, one CPTer
reported that he keeps Bill’s Conscience and the Law:
A Handbook on Civil Disobedience for the
Conscientiously Obedient handy at all times. Bill is
currently the clerk of the Colorado Springs Friends
Meeting and has served on AFSC’s Central
Regional Executive Committee.
Genie has recently published “Zo Live in the
Peace: A Report from Jerusalem” and Bill has been
writing on Christian Zionism as it relates to the
Palestine-Israeli conflict. In an article in the Denver
Post about their 2002 trip to Iraq, Genie said, “We're
pacifists by nature, dedicated to violence reduction
at a very basic, person-to-person level.” I love my
country, and it breaks my heart that we are taking
this kind of arrogant police country to the whole
world’ attitude, and I think we just need to stand up
and witness against that.” She quoted their old
friend, Daniel Berrigan, “I can't not do it,” going on
to say, “And there’s something about that double
18
Left to right: Tom Kowall, Bill and Gente at IMYM
negative that really drives home the point when you feel strongly
about something.”
If you Google Bill and Genie Durland, you will come up with
thousands of entries. It makes fascinating reading, but, more
importantly, the Goog/e trail documents two intertwined lifetimes
of solid justice and peace activism. We can count on Bill and Genie
to be in the forefront of the struggle, and we know that they “can’t
not do it.” Thank you for your witness. 0
Be wittiam
MW PENN
lg HOUSE
*
1966 *
YOUF House On Capitol Hill
tor 40 Years
Hospitality
Seminars
Workcamps
Workshops
Advocacy
William Penn House = 515 East Capitol Street 5.£.
Washington, DC 20003 = 202.543.5560
info@williampennhouse.org = www.willlampennhouse.org
September 2006 FRIENDS BULLETIN
round our house, some of the
biggest pinyon and juniper trees
I’ve ever seen offer us a little shelter from
the wind and weather that often blows
in hard from the southwest. Nearby, a
little to our south, a line of aspens that
follows Crestone Creek down the
-mountain adds to our sense of enclosure
-and harbors warblers and western
' tanagers during the warmer months, as
well as a colony of turkey vultures.
In the mornings, the vultures leave
their nearby roost, drifting down along
' the line of aspens then cottonwoods that
' follow the mountain drainages out onto
the valley floor, scanning county roads
with eye and nose for the latest roadkill.
In the evenings, we watch them come
home to our perch on the flanks of the
by Peter Anderson
Colorado
Sangres, circling by overhead and
spiraling down to their roost in the
aspens along Crestone Creek, about a
quarter of a mile to our south. The
arroyo they often seem to follow to and
from their roost runs by our house. In
their honor, we call it Vulture Gulch.
One morning, I entice Rosalea into
the pack with the prospect of a visit to
the vulture roost down the road. It is
early enough in the morning that few
of them have left. As we follow the trail
along the creek into a little clearing, we
see them overhead, at least twenty
vultures, several of them facing toward
the sun, their wings outspread and
gathering sunlight.
“Dont disturb them, Papa,” Rosalea
says, after a minute or two looking up
at them in that clearing. We keep
walking. Down the trail, several vultures
fly overhead. “Where do you think
they’re going?” I ask Rosalea.
The Vulture Church...
“They're going to school church,”
she says.
“Where’s that?”
“It’s way out there,” she says,
pointing out over the valley. “And it’s
where your dreams go when you close
your eyes.” 0
Above: Roslea and her father Peter Ander-
son. Thts essay originally appeared in the
book First Church of the Higher Eleva-
tions (ghostdancepress.org). Used with per-
mission of author.
Intermountain Yearly Meeting accepts a draft of its first Faith and Practice!
Quakers do not have a creed, but each Yearly Meeting has a book of guidelines and
theological statements called Faith and Practice. After being in existence 31 years,
Intermountain Yearly Meeting accepted a completed draft of its first Faith and Practice,
which has been 13 years in the making (for an online version, see http://
home.earthlink.net/~imym-faith-and-practice/). Each monthly meeting received between
ten and fifteen copies, of which one was unbound, allowing for additional copies to be
produced as needed. From June 2006 to June 2007, meetings, individuals, and worship
groups are encouraged to read and use this book of Faith and Practice, study it, and
determine how it speaks to them. With the exception of errors in fact, formatting,
spelling, and so on, the Faith and Practice Committee asks that this period be one of
“silent” reflective seasoning, allowing adequate time before sending responses to the
committee. During this time, the work of the committee will be to encourage active
seasoning. Meetings without committee members are encouraged to appoint someone to
lead this activity.
From June 2007 to January 2008, responses, suggestions, and concerns from the
Yearly Meeting community will be gathered, considered, and incorporated into the draft
by the Faith and Practice Committee. Depending upon the extent of revision needed, we
hope to have a published book available by Yearly Meeting 2008.
September 2006 FRIENDS BULLETIN
19
MEMORIAL MINUTES
RONALD LESTER Mock
Ronald Lester Mock was born in
Oakland (CA) on May 29, 1927, the only
son of Francis “Frank” Bloodgood Mock
and Jean “Major” Lillian Desoto. His
father was the only son of a Jewish family
living in the Los Angeles area; his mother’s
heritage is shrouded in mystery.
Ron grew up during the Depression,
and his family moved several times around
northern California as his mother sought
nursing jobs to support them. He started
school at Mission Dolores in San Francisco
and spent several unhappy years boarding
at St. Vincent’s boys’ school and orphanage
in San Rafael while his parents separated.
He attended high school in Los Angeles
and graduated from Polytechnic in 1944.
After high school, he worked as a pipe
fitter in the shipyards. His goal was to be
a writer; however, as advised by his mentors
at the shipyard, he later went to college to
prepare for a white collar job.
Each of FWCC’s
four sections, serving
Africa
e the Americas
¢ Asia.and the West Pacific
* Europe and the Middle East
carries out the work of connecting
Friends in its own region.
FWCC cates for isolated Friends
and meetings and worship groups =~
that are located far from established
yearly meetings through its International
Membership Committee,
20
Ron enlisted in the Navy during
World War II and was discharged as a
Seaman First Class in July, 1946. He
started college at UCLA in pre-optometry,
a curriculum that did not inspire him. In
1948, he married Catherine Ann Dorothy
on his twenty-first birthday. They traveled
to France, where Ron studied French at
Universite de Grenoble and then worked
for the US Embassy in Paris. After two
years in France, Ron and Catherine
relocated to the Bay Area, where he
completed his BA at UC Berkeley, having
found psychology, a major for which he
was highly suited. He graduated Phi Beta
Kappa and was accepted into Berkeley’s
doctoral program, finishing his course
work and internships before his life began
falling apart.
His marriage ended after seven years
and he struggled with depression. During
this time, his father had remarried, which
resulted in his only sibling, Susan Moran,
twenty-eight years Ron’s junior.
At the beginning of the 1960s, Ron
worked for California’s Department of
Mental Hygiene in Sacramento. He
returned to UC Berkeley in 1962, where
When you support FWCC Section of
the Americas you are part of this global
work: One quarter of our unrestricted
income goes to support the World Office
and the Africa Section.
September 2006
he met Kathleen Ranlett. They married
later that year.
Ron was disturbed about the war in
Vietnam, and one of his professors
suggested Quakers as a group that knew
about working for peace. As he was living
just a few blocks from the Berkeley Friends
Meeting, Ron got acquainted with
Quakers and became a regular attender.
He has been a member of Berkeley
Monthly Meeting since 1970.
Ron became involved with the Free
Speech Movement in 1964 and
participated in the FSM sit-in on
December 3, 1964. He was one of the
oldest protesters to get arrested. He was
proud of his arrest, seeing it as a way of
honoring his convictions. Following an
upbeat period for both the campus and
himself, he slipped again into a deep
depression.
After a couple of years of being
“hung up on his thesis,” he got back on his
feet and completed both his doctorate in
clinical psychology and postdoctoral
training with children. He liked being
called “Doc Mock”. He was gifted with
an ability to understand the trials and
www .fwecamericas.org
FRIENDS BULLETIN
\
Saas
tribulations of others. He worked in
Alameda County child and family clinics
and described his work to his daughter as
“being a grumper doc,” that is, someone
you talked to when you were grumpy.
Humor was one of his gifts. He wrote
several screenplays and humorous essays.
Shortly before his death, he completed a
piece about life in Salem Lutheran Home,
his residence for the two years prior to his
death.
As a member of Berkeley Meeting, he
was long an active participant in the vigil
protesting the University’s involvement in
weapons research. He served several terms
on the Committee for Marriage and
Family Ties. He was moved by the work
done by physicians in the Heart-to-Heart
Program and recently supported the
Adopt-a-Minefield Program.
Ronald Lester Mock, age 78, died
August 19, 2005 after being struck by an
elevator door. His body went through a
_ series of crises that prevented an operation
on his broken hip, and he succumbed to
_ pneumonia and heart failure nine days after
the accident.
He leaves behind his sister, Susan
~ Moran, his wife, Kathleen Ranlett Mock,
his daughter Denise Francesca Mock and
son-in-law Sean Vitali, as well as many
others whose lives he touched. He is
buried in a plot he picked at Sunset View
Cemetery, within walking distance from
his home in Kensington.
Ronald never lost his spirit and
unique sense of humor, which a Friend
described recently as “sardonic whimsy.”
He wrote his epitaph many years before
| his death. It reads: “He had bad
| protoplasm, but he done his best.” O
}
Mary ANNIN SEITZ
Mary Annin Seitz, 89, on December
13, 2005, in Santa Rosa, CA. Mary was
| born on August 30, 1916 to Mary
_ Carpenter Gallagher and Robert Edwards
' Annin, Jr. Her father graduated from
_ Princeton College in 1909, managed the
family farm in Berkshire County, MA,
' then moved to Boston to become assistant
| to the Secretary of Agriculture and to
attend law school at night. He suffered
_ from depression and committed suicide in
1921. Mary’s mother moved with her two
children, Mary and Robert Edwards
September 2006 FRIENDS BULLETIN
Annin, III (called Tertius) to East
Greenwich, RI to be with family, and went
to work as a teacher. She spent many years
at Lincoln School, a Friends school in
Providence, RI, from which Mary Seitz
graduated in 1934.
Mary went on to graduate from Smith
College in Northampton, MA, where she
began many friendships that continued
throughout her life. When she graduated
in 1938, she began by selling books door
to door, and also worked for the Pinkerton
Detective Agency. When Richard Seitz
hired her as an interviewer for a market
research project in Providence, RI, he
encouraged her to pursue her career in New
York. They were married in 1944, and
raised two children, Robert Edwards Seitz
(Ted) and Sarah Ann Seitz (Sally). Their
loving partnership ended which Richard
died in 1991.
The end of World War II brought the
death of Mary’s younger brother, Tertius,
a lieutenant in the army. Both Mary and
her mother felt that there must be a way
to end all war.
Mary will be remembered as an
enthusiastic volunteer in many arenas,
including a co-op preschool, the local
PTA, Girl Scouts, the civil rights and anti-
war movements, and as an advocate for the
homeless and low cost housing. During
the 1960s and 70s, she led a group of boys
from Harlem on recreational and cultural
activities, and was arrested for standing in
front of the White House to protest the
Vietnam War. In her later years, Mary
bought her clothing from thrift stores to
make donations to many non-profit
organizations.
An avid reader and amateur musician,
Mary played piano and flute, encouraging
her family and friends to gather around her
piano for singing. An annual “Messiah”
sing-along was held at her home for years
until the cast of musicians grew so large
that it had to move to the Friends meeting
house. A Quaker for 50 years, Mary
attended meeting at Scarsdale, NY,
Wilton, CT, and South Berkshire, MA
until she moved to Friends House in 1993
and joined Redwood Forest Meeting
(Santa Rosa CA).
Mary leaves behind son and daughter-
in-law Ted and Ann Seitz of Hayward,
CA, and daughter and son-in-law, Sally
Seitz and Paul Freitas of Santa Rosa, CA.
She will be missed by grandchildren Paige
Seitz-Laurence, Alexander Seitz, Kathryn
Freitas, Hannah Freitas, and Lia Freitas,
as well as by family members on the East
Coast. 0
LORRAINE FRANCES PRUETT “PRU”
PEMBERTON
Pru Pemberton left this life at age 84,
having lived her values concerning her
spiritual life, her love of family and friends,
and her beliefs regarding social-justice
needs. She had been ill for a little over a
month with pneumonia. Unable to regain
her strength, she died quietly at home,
surrounded by her family, expressing both
her joy in the life she had lived, and her
feeling of peace about her impending
death.
Pru was born in Rochester, MN, and
attended the Methodist church there.
When she was at Oberlin College, she
attended her first unprogrammed Friends’
meeting. She related that when it was over,
she and her friend burst out of the
Meeting, ready to explode: “Neither of us
had ever been silent for an hour before!”
Upon graduating from Oberlin in
1944, she earned masters degrees in
Political and Social Science from the New
School of Social Research in 1975, and in
Transpersonal Counseling from John F.
Kennedy University in 1984.
Asa young mother in Minnesota, Pru
volunteered with the American Friends
Service foreign exchange student program,
offering her home to high school-age
students from around the world. In the
1960s she became one of the first
employees of the New York Urban
Coalition.
A lifelong activist and community
organizer, in her later years Pru played
leadership roles in such diverse
organizations as the Larkin Street (San
Francisco) Youth Center, the Plymouth
Church of Oakland, CA the Older
Women’s League, Earth Elders, The
Russian River Celebration, and Apple
Seed Friends Meeting of Sebastopol, CA.
Pru loved to learn and to travel, and
in 1997 fulfilled a life-long dream when
she visited China and the Silk Road with
Oberlin College friends. Pru freely shared
her sense of humor, her joy of learning and
her large store of knowledge with
an
community groups to which she belonged,
as well as during book discussions, with
her friends and family, and with Apple
Seed Friends’ Meeting.
She wrote an essay: “Thoughts on
Turning Eighty” where she mused: “I have
never been rich but neither have I ever
been without food, shelter, or protection
from the cold...not having too much
requires evaluation and the setting of
priorities—a good for
determining one’s values. I feel frustrated
when I consider how hard and long I have
worked to make the world a better place
in which to live. From now on I am going
exercise
to focus my efforts on one or a few people
at a time. I’m going to leave the larger
battles for the younger
generation... Things that seemed like
hardships or major blows, in retrospect,
have made me stronger and freed me to
grow in my own way...Looking back, I
feel I have had a good life.”
Pru was a soft and gentle person, and
very wise. We miss her. 0
“Minutes,” continued from page 14
Furthermore, the Yearly Meeting
allocates for the coming year an allowance
of $1,000 so that the Group can meet
those program expenses (including
communication, printed materials, and
travel) that cannot be met by the
participating meetings and worship
groups.
Present membership of the Spiritual
Formation Group:
Andy Bardwell (Mountain View, CA),
Kitty Ufford-Chase (Pima, AZ), Wyn
Lewts (Santa Fe, NM), Bruce Thron-Weber
(Mountain View, CA), Charlene Weir (Salt
Lake, UT).
MINUTE OF APPRECIATION
Ministry and Council wishes to
express deep gratitude to Claire Leonard
for her many years of service in the
development of a Faith and Practice for this
Yearly Meeting. Involved from the earliest
beginnings of this Committee, Claire
accepted the responsibility of being our
clerk and has served in that capacity for
the past nine years. During these years, she
has shepherded us through the processes
of discernment, decision-making, and
writing.... Whenever challenges of varying
ee
magnitude have presented themselves,
Claire has consistently led us through these
periods with grace, patience and a strength
born of wisdom.
Other Minutes Considered
Other minutes considered, but not
approved during this season:
¢ Whether or not to affliliate with
Friends General Conference.
¢ Whether or not to affliate with
Quaker Earth Care Witness.
These concerns will be held over for
seasoning and future consideration.
CALENDAR ITEMS
Sep 22-24: NURTURING VOCAL MINIsTRY.
Deepening meetings for worship through
spoken and silent ministry. Gordon Bishop and
Rachel Findley. Quaker Center, Ben Lomond,
CA.
Oct 6-8: Willamette Quarterly at Mt. Hood
Kiwanis Camp, 53 miles from Portland. The
theme: “Quakerism and the Mystical Roots of
Faith.”
Sep 29-OcT 1:THE ALTERNATIVES TO
VIOLENCE ProGRAM. The Basic Training.
PYM AVP Committee. Quaker Center, Ben
Lomond, CA.
Oct 20-22: Ways To LovE Your “ENEMIES.”
Practical ways of seeing God in all and reaching
out to your “enemies.” John Helding. Quaker
Center, Ben Lomond, CA.
Nov 3-5: A SouL’s TESTAMENT, WRITING A
PERSONAL SPIRITUAL MEMOIR. Eve Forrest.
Quaker Center, Ben Lomond, CA.
Nov 17 - 19: Goopngss. Exploring that sense
of goodness at our core, learning energy work,
and laughing. John Calvi. Quaker Center, Ben
Lomond, CA.
home planet.
510-665-3170.
September 2006
“HOLDING EARTH IN THE LIGHT” RETREAT SEP 29-Ocrt 1, 2006
Strawberry Creek Meeting (Berkeley, CA), and Pacific Yearly Meeting and Unity
with Nature Committee, are co-sponsoring a retreat, at Sierra Friends Center, in Nevada
City, CA, for Quakers who want to stoke the fires of Earthcare Witness in our home meetings.
Join us to share inspiration, information, dreams and fun with folks who want to bring the
light of love and the clarity of conviction to our actions on behalf of Earth and all its creatures.
We'll come together to share what we are doing now and to consider how we can be more
effective in translating our deep concerns for Earth into spirit-filled action within our Quaker
communities and beyond. Keith Helmuth, who is known in Quaker circles through his
many articles and essays in Quaker publications, will bring to the gathering a call for Quakers
to expand the scope of our testimonies and witness beyond our traditional concern for human
betterment to include concern for the well-being of the whole community of life on our
For more information about the retreat and how to register please visit —
www.dimeagallon.org or www.woolman.org or contact: James Hosley bluejkh@softcom.net
CLASSIFIEDS
Publications
QUAKER LIFE—INFORMING AND EQUIP-
PING FRIENDS AROUND THE WORLD. Free
sample available upon request. Join our family of
Friends for one year (10 issues) at $24. For informa-
tion contact:
Quaker Life
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Richmond, IN 47374
Phone: 765-962-7573
E-mail: QuakerLife@fum.org
Website: www.fum.org
PENDLE HILL PAMPH-
LETS are timely essays on
many facets of Quaker life,
thought and spirituality,
readable at one sitting.
Subscribe to receive six
pamphlets/year for $20
(US). Also available: every pamphlet
published previously by Pendle Hill,
including recent pamphlets by Marge
Abbott, Robert Griswold and Steve
Smith. 800-742-3150 exem2m@oe
bookstore@pendlehill.org.
FRIENDS JOURNAL is
more than a magazine — it’s
a ministry of the written
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full of award-winning art-
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offer code FB2007 to receive 12 monthly
issues for $35, saving 42% off the cover
price! FRIENDS JOURNAL, 1216 Arch
St., 2A, Philadelphia, PA 19107. Visit us
on the web at www.friendsjournal.org.
FRIENDS BULLETIN
VINTAGE Books, Quaker Books. Rare and
out-of-print journals, history, religion. Contact
us for specific wants. 181 Hayden Rowe St,
Hopkinton, MA 01748. Phone: 508-435-3499.
Email: vintage@gis.net.
Schools, Retreat Centers, Camps,
and Retirement Homes
BEN LOMOND QUAKER CENTER: Personal re-
treats, family reunions, weddings, retreats, and our
own schedule of Quaker Programs. Among the
redwoods, near Santa Cruz, CA. 831-336-8333.
http://www.quakercenter.org.
FRIENDS HOUSE IS A MULTI-LEVEL RETIRE-
MENT COMMUNITY offering independent liv-
ing apartments and houses, and an assisted care
living facility. Located in Santa Rosa, Friends
House is easily accessible to San Francisco, the
Pacific Coast, redwood forests, and the vine-
yards of Sonoma and Napa counties. Friends
House is owned and operated by Friends Asso-
ciation of Services for the Elderly (FASE), a
California not-for-profit corporation. The fa-
cility and Board of Directors are strongly influ-
enced by Quaker traditions. The welfare and
growth of persons within an environment which
stresses independence is highly valued. Tour
Friends House at our website at
www. friendshouse.org. Friends House, 684
Benicia Drive, Santa Rosa, CA 95409. 707-
538-0152.
seek
‘THE WoOLMAN SEMESTER offers Friends
education to students in grades 11-13 focused
on the Testimonies of peace, justice and
stewardship. Students earn a full semester of
high school credit and log 120 hours of
‘community service. Through the challenge of a
| rigorous curriculum, simple living in community
-and service work in Mexico, students gain an
‘intrinsic direction for their futures. Academic
: skills, nonviolent activism and self-awareness are
‘developed to guide them with integrity.
i Financial Aid and Quaker Scholarships support
all qualified teens. Visit www.woolman.org or
‘contact 530-273-3183.
WILLIAM PENN House & WASHINGTON
| QUAKER WorRKCAMPS. Washington, DC.
‘Quaker Center on Capitol Hill offer hospitality,
‘Meeting space and worship. Workcamp
“opportunities for youth, peace studies seminars for
educators, and seminars for all ages. Leadership
‘training for Quaker young adults through our
‘internship program. All are welcome.
www.WmPennHouse.org,
-info@WmPennHouse.org. 202-543-5560.
515 East Capitol St SE, Washington, DC
20003.
oR
September 2006 FRIENDS BULLETIN
POSITIONS VACANT: WILLIAM PENN
House & WASHINGTON QUAKER WORK-
CAMPS Washington, DC. Hospitality intern,
full time. Spring 2006. Register and greet
guests, work with workcamps, peace studies
and international program seminars. Stipend,
room and board and health insurance.
wwweWaPienn Houselorg,
info@WmPennHouse.org. 202-543-5560.
515 East Capitol St SE, Washington, DC
20003.
ACCOMODATIONS: QUAKER HILL CONFER-
ENCE CENTER, Richmond, IN, offers over-
night accommodations for Friends traveling in
this area. For info and reservations, contact
QHCC at 765-962-5741, quakerhill@parallax.ws
or visit our website at www.ghcc.org.
WELLSPRINGS FRIENDS SCHOOL: alternative,
accredited high school grades 9-12. Rooted in
the Quaker spirit of simplicity, community,
nonviolence, honoring the Light in every per-
son. Open enrollment. Climate of affirmation.
3590 W 18th Avenue, Eugene, OR 97402. 541-
686-1223. FAX: 541-687-1493. Dennis
Hoerner, Head.
Services
JOIN THE FOLKS AT FRIENDLY Horse ACRES
FOR A DAY AT A HORSE FARM. All ages wel-
come. Camps are set up to encourage confi-
dence in people who are fearful of horses, as
well as more experienced horse lovers. Learn
to see the world from the horse’s point of view.
Visit www.friendlyhorseacres.com. Phone:
360-825-3628. Email: friendlaverne
@friendlyhorseacres.com
Tours and Opportunities
CONSIDER A Costa Rica Stupy Tour. Visit
the Quaker community of Monteverde. See the
cloud forest and two oceans. Write Sarah
Stuckey, Apdo 46-5655, Monteverde, Costa
Rica. Phone/FAX: 011-506-645-5436 or
937-728-9887 or Email: crstudy@racsa.co.cr.
Website: www.crstudytours.com.
2K
CONSIDER THE ARIZONA FRIENDS COMMU-
NITY FOR YOUR NEXT, OR YOUR SECOND,
HOME. 360 degree mountain views, 4,000 ft
elevation, often near-perfect weather, among
good friends. Write Roy Joe and Ruth Stuckey,
6567 N San Luis Obispo Drive, Douglas, AZ
85607. Website: arizonafriends.com.
RoR AC
QUAKER WRITERS, EDITORS, AND
PUBLISHERS ARE INVITED TO JOIN QUIP
(QUAKERS UNITING IN PUBLISHING). An
international “self help” organization of
theologically diverse Friends concerned with the
ministry of the written word. Contact Graham
Garner at grahamG@fgcquaker.org. Website:
www.quaker.org/quip.
FRIENDS PLANNING TO MOVE CAN REQUEST AS-
SISTANCE FROM DaviD BROWN, A QUAKER
REALTOR. David will refer you to a real estate pro-
fessional to assist you with buying and/or selling a
RAK
QUAKER COMMERCIAL REALTOR specializing
in income property sales and 1031 replacements
nationally. Call Allen Stockbridge, JD, CCIM
at 877-658-3666.
Concerned Singles
links compatible, socially conscious singles
who care about peace, social justice, diversity, gender
equity, and the health of the planet.
Nationwide/ Canada.
All ages. Since 1984.
FREE SAMPLE: Box 444-FB,
Lenox Dale, MA 01242
413-243-4350 or www.concernedsingles.com
JOIN THE FELLOWSHIP OF QUAKERS IN THE
ARTS ($25/year), and share your work with
Friends in our exciting quarterly, Types &
Shadows. Seeking short fiction & non-fiction,
poetry, drawings, B&W photos, and news of
Quaker art. Help create a new chapter in Quaker
History! More info: FQA, 1515 Cherry St,
Philadelphia, PA 19102. Email submissions OK.
fqa@quaker.org www.quaker.org/fga.
AFSC/INTERMOUNTAIN YM
JOINT SERVICE PROJECT:
QUAKER WORK CAMPS FOR TEENS
AND ADULTS. Spring and fall in Mexico,
summer with Oglala Lakota. Contact
Mike Gray. Email: MGray@afsc.org or
520-907-6321. Website: afsc.org.
CorRRECTION: In the July-August of Friends
Bulletin, the last phrase in Forrest Curo’s review
of Lloyd Lee Wilson’s book Wrestling with Our
Faith Tradition was inadvertently omitted. It
should read: “[ Wilson's] language occasionally
gets dangerously extravagant, but the faith and
thought beneath it are solid. I hope you too will have
”
.
the same pleasure |as I did in reading this book]
2006 ADVERTISING RATES: $.47per word for
CLASSIFED ADS. Minimum charge, $9. Box ads:
10% extra. Ads should be prepaid, if possible.
DEADLINE: six weeks prior to publication. DISPLAY
ADS: $16 per column inch. % page ad (4 x 44):
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oe
rograms for YOU
at Pendle Hi
| October 13-15
| Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP):
Advanced Workshop
with Val Liveoak & Katie Murphy
October 23-27
Soul at Work: Spiritual Leadership
in Organizations
with Margaret Benefiel
October 27-29
Class Matters—Iin
Community and Coalition
with George Lakey & Nancy Diaz
November 6-10 December 8-10
Yoga You Can Exploring Dreams
Take Home With You with Jeremy Taylor
with Bob Butera
PENDLE HILu Contact us to find out more
A QUAKER CENTER FOR STUDY AND CONTEMPLATION
338 Plush Mill Road - Wallingford, PA 19086 610.566.4507 ext. 3 or 800.742.3150 ext. 3
www.pendlehill.org registrar@pendlehill.org